Ana Sala, Mayor of Calp: «In 2025, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pobla d'Ifac. We have it all»

Calp has approached FITUR this 2025 by betting on the promotion of its historical heritage, with the recent musealization of the Baños de la Reina site and the 20th anniversary of the excavations in the Pobla d'Ifac, and its cultural tradition, with the firm intention of turning its Holy Week into a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest.

Calp shines at Fitur with its Holy Week and the museumization of the Baños de la Reina

But Calp goes far beyond these key facts. Ana Sala, the mayor of the municipality, has valued the promotional strategy of the town as a long-term work that has more than achieved the desired deseasonalization of tourism. According to her, public-private collaboration and the work of the councilors have been key to having activity during the 12 months of the year.

Ana Sala, Mayor of Calp, at the presentation on Holy Week at FITUR

In an interview for LaMarinaAlta.com, Sala has insisted on other strong points of the municipality, such as the sports offer, to achieve a more relaxed type of tourism, or the gastronomy, being "the smallest municipality with the most Michelin stars per square meter." One of the key revelations of the presentations at the tourism fair has been the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the excavations of the Pobla Medieval d'Ifac. A commemoration of the arduous work carried out together with the MARQ, to highlight this small, but large part of the history of Calp.

QUESTION. This year, Calp's promotion at FITUR has focused on combining historical heritage and cultural tradition. How do you assess this strategy as a tool for de-seasonalising tourism in the municipality?

R. We have been working for many years in Calp to de-seasonalise tourism and I think we have achieved this, thanks to the work of business groups, hotels and the various Tourism Councillors in recent years. Why? Because before the end of October, until March when Easter began, there were no people in the town, the restaurants were practically closed, almost all of them, for four or five months, and we have managed to have activity 365 days a year.

And that, as I say, is thanks to hotel tourism, which has done a lot. Hotels remain open all year round and have helped us, and have made it possible for trade to be revitalised as well. We have managed to have an urban shopping centre open all year round and that is thanks to the efforts of many people, entrepreneurs and public-private collaboration, which is essential.

Q. What steps do you consider key to making Calp's Holy Week a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest?

R. It is a question of time, a lot of effort, work and dedication. As I said, to achieve the objectives, public-private collaboration is necessary. The Calp City Council is always on the side of its own, businessmen, individuals, and in this case, Holy Week.

We have five brotherhoods, including fraternities and brotherhoods, and all of this has been the result of hard work by many people in the association network. In this case, the Holy Week festival, with the parishes that have helped and the impetus thanks to all these people who have made Holy Week grow in the last 15 years and have it as we know it now.

Q. What response has Calp received regarding the musealisation of the Baños de la Reina?

A. Feedback is a tremendous illusion. It may seem that we bring the same thing to Fitur every year, but that is not the case. We have been taking very slow steps, because in this matter we do not have the competence of the sites. But we have the MARQ (Archaeological Museum of Alicante), the Provincial Council of Alicante, the Generalitat as well, which for heritage and culture also has its leadership there. We all have to go in unison to achieve the objectives.

What we are bringing to Fitur this 2025 is the final push of the first phase of the Baños de la Reina Master Plan, which was presented in 2021. The last step of that first phase is the opening of this space to the public. The first thing we have been able to do has been, for example, the fencing, the pedestrian walkway, being able to open it to the public free of charge, with guided tours and in an orderly manner. And, above all, as I believe the site deserves, the town of Calp deserves and the world deserves, in short.

Q. What new initiatives or investments do you have planned to continue promoting cultural tourism in Calp?

R. Well, look, I think we have a wide range of options in Calp, not only sun and beach, which is what tourists mainly come for in summer. In recent years we have managed to give a boost to the cultural offer, and to the gastronomic one, for example. Let us remember that we are the smallest municipality with the most Michelin stars per square metre. We have three and one very close by, which is on the border of Benissa.

The promotion we are doing of Peix de Calp has also been important. We have just celebrated the centenary of the brotherhood. We will be at Madrid Fusión on Monday, also with Peix de Calp.

Calp is gastronomy, culture, environment, hiking trails, with Oltá, the Salinas, the Peñal, the smallest natural park in the Valencian Community, but at the same time the largest and the most beautiful, it must be said.

It is also important to say that today we are recognising the 20th anniversary of the excavations at Pobla d'Ifac. We have two sites in Calp, one very old from the Roman era, which is the Baños de la Reina, and then a later, medieval one, which is Pobla d'Ifac, which is in the Peñal d'Ifac Natural Park. In 2025 we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of this excavation campaign, also with the help of MARQ, which is leading the excavation, and we cannot be more than proud of what Calp has in so few square kilometres. We have everything.

Q. What other actions are being taken to attract visitors from foreign markets?

A. On a global level, as I say, the basis is the orography that we have. The image of Calp is the image of everyone. Peñón de Ifach, which has an unmatched, incomparable power of attraction, of magnet.

Sports tourism is also very important, which I haven't mentioned before, but during the months of December, January and February the town and the hotels, aparthotels, even villas, are full. Cyclists from world-class teams come, such as Soudal Quick-Step, with figures such as Remco Evenepoel, Mikel Landa... Sports tourism is fundamental.

Calp has a good package. We have the beaches, 360 days of sunshine a year, all the cultural and gastronomic offerings. Added to this is everything we are currently investing in, such as archaeology. In fact, the logo for the 20th anniversary of La Pobla d'Ifac is "Calp, history and heritage". In addition, I think that water activities for all tastes and sport in general are taking off very well lately, both at sea and in the mountains.